Beram Kayal can be leading bhoy again

CELTIC manager Neil Lennon has challenged Beram Kayal to step up to the plate and fill the void that will be left by Victor Wanyama’s pending big-money exit.

PUBLISHED: 05:42, Sun, Jul 7, 2013

0

Neil Lennon is confident Beram Kayal will get back to his best

The Israeli international made a massive impact in his debut season for the Hoops, but failed to live up to those expectations last season due to injuries and lack of form.

Lennon is confident Kayal will get back to his best and become Parkhead’s main enforcer again should £12 million-rated Wanyama decide to move to Southampton, Cardiff or any of the other clubs who are desperate for his signature.

“Beram had injury problems last season, a lot of fluid in the ankle,” said Lennon.

“He had an injection in that six weeks ago and it needed to settle down.

“He looks like the player he was two years ago. He is fitter and in training he’s been getting round the pitch much better.

“There’s a real drive and aggression to his game which he had in his first two seasons here when he was a fantastic player.

“If we can get Beram back to that level it will be like signing a new player.

“He is good enough to fill the void left by Victor, no question.

“Obviously he’s not as tall or physically imposing as Victor but he is a very strong player.

“One of the reasons I bought him was he was one of the best I’d seen in a long time at getting the ball back, at recovering and seeing the danger.

“He showed all that in his first season but since his injury he’s struggled a bit.

“He’s starting to show more of himself now and I’m hoping this will be a big season for him.”

The former Maccabi Haifa midfielder was one of Lennon’s first signings back in 2010.

Lennon knows he has the ability and believes that if Kayal can regain his confidence then he will start making headlines again in Scotland and across Europe – especially in the Champions League.

He looks like the player he was two years ago. He is fitter and in training he’s been getting round the pitch much better

Neil Lennon

“We haven’t forgotten how good he was,” said Lennon. “You never lose it. You may be affected by confidence or an injury, maybe the injury had more of an effect than we thought.

“Looking at him since he’s come back that would seem to be the case.

“I trust Beram, he was one of the first players I brought in. He is a great professional and looks after himself really well.

“With Scott Brown, Joe Ledley, Victor Wanyama and even Charlie Mulgrew going in there, he struggled to get a regular place in the team.

“He still managed to play a lot of games last season but when he did play he was just that wee bit off from what we’d seen originally.

“He wasn’t affecting games last season in the way he had before. He was on the periphery of it and that wasn’t him – normally he is in the thick of it.

“I don’t believe you can just ‘lose it’. I just think it’s confidence or a really bad injury.

“If it’s in your make-up you just have to dig deep and find it again because it’s always there.

“You never lose the ability, it’s probably more a mental thing than anything else.”

Lennon is ready to play his part in getting the fiery 25-year-old up to speed in a bid to try and get Celtic back on to the big stage in the Champions League – starting with this month’s qualifier against Cliftonville.

The Northern Irishman insisted: “I just want him to replicate what he showed in the first 18 months.

“You don’t lose that and it’s up to me to eke that out of him again.

“Hopefully the injury will have settled and he will have no worries on that front.”